Sims 2 Open for Business is an expansion pack for the Sims 2. It is the third one, and was released in Winter of 2006. In this game you can make your Sims have their own businesses! This game is really fun to play, but if you want to have a successful business, you should read on.

Steps

1

Figure out what business you are running. There are many options for this. You can make a Flower Shop, a Toy Store, an Arcade, a Pet Store, a Grocery Store, a Nightclub, a Restaurant/Diner, a salon, a bakery, a Furniture Store, or a Bowling Alley. Be creative, and use your other expansion packs (if any) to your advantage. Figure out what skills your Sim has, too. Are they good at cooking? Then you might want to make them have a bakery. If they have Mechanical, you might want to make them own a toy business.

2

Build the business!!! You can either make this on a community lot, or you can make your Sim have a home business. I recommend a home business for something like a flower or toy shop, but a community lot for a restaurant or bowling alley. If you are selling something, put the smaller items on shelves. And put a lot, too, because items sell quickly! Include a cash register for most businesses, and it's good to have a restroom. Put a green store sign outside the door so customers will know when the store is open. For a restaurant or diner, you'll need Sims 2 Nightlife.

3

Claim the business!!! If it is a home business, click the phone, then business, then start home business. If they are going to work from a different lot, click "purchase community lot." You may need extra $$$ to buy a lot.

4

Customers!!! After your business is open, customers will come and start browsing around (except for a restaurant.) It's good to help them find what they need, so click on a customer if they look confused. It's also good to be a pro at working the register, because if you are too slow, customers will get mad and leave. Don't worry, though, as time goes by you will get better at the register.

5

Employees!!! If you feel that things are out of control and more people are needed, you can hire employees. Click on the phone to do this. There are good and bad things about employees. The good thing, of course, is you don't have to be two places at once, so while you are helping customers or restocking, they could be working at the register. The bad things are that you need to pay them, and sometimes they don't work. If you have a home business, however, you can have other family members work for you without having to pay them!

6

How is your business doing? You can check this by the giant thing in the upper right corner of your screen. It shows who is a customer, how much money you gained (or lost), who your employees are, and more. Look at it frequently so you know how your business is doing.

7

Restock, Restock, Restock. When Sims buy things, more items don't magically reappear! To restock, there should be an X sign on the item that was there before. Click it to restock. Go to "tips" to find an easier way. :D

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Video

This is how to start a business. The shop shown is a flower shop, but the steps also work with another shop.

Tips

A restaurant doesn't follow some of these steps. If you have a restaurant, please find an article called "How to start a restaurant in the Sims 2". This article is for selling items only.

To stop sending your employees on breaks you need to open the cheat panel (Ctrl+Shift+C) the type 'maxmotives'. This will maximise all the motives of the employees.

Always remember to raise your employees' pay if the employee info icon says they are underpaid or very underpaid, otherwise they will quit the job and you may have a bit of trouble trying to find another that will match the same standards as the previous employee.

When you are purchasing items for your lot make sure you have 'Wholesale Mode' selected. This will give you a discount of what you buy which means more profit:)

Always put more expensive or high profit items against the walls of your business as they sell better. Place cheap products in the center of the lot.

For pet stores, you need Sims 2 Pets.

Remember to close your business! You can't stay there forever, and you'll probably get tired after a long day's work. Also, you'll need time to restock items.

Don't make your business too big or small. If it's too big it will slow down your computer, and Sims will spend hours getting from one place to another. If it is too small, you won't be able to fit all the items you need, and Sims will get crowded. A 3x3 lot should work just fine for your business.

Pet stores cannot sell birds and wombats.

A salon is another exception, but not by much. You just do their hair, and they give you money.

For restaurants, you need Sims 2 Nightlife or Sims 2 Double Deluxe.

Don't give up if employees aren't working. You could always just work alone. It's not that hard, really.

When setting your items for sale, I suggest making them cheap. That way, you still get money, and customers want to buy your items.

If you can't buy a lot because it is too expensive, enter this cheat: motherlode. You will now have 50,000 more simoleons!!

Don't buy a lot of things when your store is open. Your money bar will drop a LOT. Before the business is even started, buy everything you need.

Have fun!!!

Here's how to restock items without time or money. In neighborhood mode, press Ctrl, Shift, and C. a box will appear at the top of the screen. Enter this cheat: boolprop testingcheatsenabled true. Now, enter the lot, Shift and click on an item, and you can now "fake" restock it without having to pay!

Warnings

Do not use the maxmotives cheat when your business is open to customers! The buy bar of your customers will drop and you will potentially lose the sale. To resolve this issue call your employees in before you open then do the maxmotives cheat then do 'motivedecay off'(space between).This will maximise the motives of your sims and also keep them from going down.

Do not save the game with boolprop testingcheatsenabled turned on, because it can ruin the lot. If you must use this cheat, be sure to type "boolprop testingcheatsenabled false" to turn it back off before you save.